Page 1 of Urgent - need advice on Toshiba RD-XS30 DVD recorder

Hi

I need to exchange my Panny E55 for a hard disk recorder and I only have a week or so to hit Richer Sounds` return time limit. The Toshiba RD-XS30 looks good but, suspiciously, there`s hardly any information about it on the web or even this forum.

Can anyone fill in the gaps - picture quality, features etc.

Thanks in advance

HI trentculp I was looking at some mags today,and one had a part about 100 top dogs and the toshiba rd-xs30 come out as a all round good recorder/it also said it made good recordings in low modes. In two mags the E55 got 5stars as good as it gets for the money i was off to get one when i read your message ,but you put me off.Now i don`t know which way to go.I was going to ask you to send me a copy of 3hr recording from the e55 to see what it looked like at this end on a dvd-r disk (which i would pay you for +p/p)etc Its a job to kown what to do. :( :( :(

Hi goblinspell

Yeah, I understand. It can be seriously exasperating. Actually I`m only considering replacing the E55 because, after using it for a day, I suddenly understood the advantages of HDD. Sometimes you have get up close to see the bleedin` obvious!! ;)

The E55 is fine really. However, there are compression artifacts at lower bitrates that I personally find to be unacceptable. XP mode is broadcast quality and superb. FR (Flexible Recording mode) at 90 mins is the lowest I`d dare go for important recordings. It`s about as good as XP. But the artifacts creep in the lower you go until you hit EP 8hr then yuck! I wouldn`t use this to record anything except programmes that I really hate. There`s a myth that LP and EP modes are equal to VHS, and it`s just that, a myth - IMHO of course.

These compression artifacts are probably common to all domestic DVD recorders and not a shortcoming of the E55. I doubt that the Toshiba is any better in this regard. The technology is still very young, so it`s fair enough I guess. But recording everything on XP is an expensive and impractical proposition, so I`m slightly disappointed.

I`m also having second thoughts about risking an extra 200 quid just for the Toshiba`s HDD especially if the picture isn`t any better. I might as well stick with the Panny until the technology improves overall. I`ll give it a year. By then the machines will probably be twice as good for half the price. Afterall, that`s what happened with DVD players.

Sorry if I put you off. The Panny is probably as good as any other non HDD unit right now, so you might as well get it. At least it has RGB in/out and plays multi-region disks and mp3s - none of which the Toshiba can do.

Oh boy, have I just talked myself out of getting the Tosh or what?! :)

Cheers and luck
Trentculp

This item was edited on Friday, 7th May 2004, 05:14

Hi Trentculp thanks for your reply .So to sum up LP mode which is up to 4hrs surely its not that bad.By the way is there any chance of a dvd-r disk with 5/10 mins of recording in LP/mode so I can view it at this end.I will of course pay you .If not i will just have to go buy and try.
thanks.

I love my Toshiba

I record everything on hd then if i need to stick it onto dvd, ask any questions and i will try and answer them for you..

Miss the Tosh,its been around a while now.With no RGB input,no ability to record directly to dvd-r(only from HDD) and questionable NTSC recording ability there are better options out there.
If RGB input is not necessary and you can make do with s-video,go for the Pioneer 5100.If RGB is required go for the Panasonic E85.If you could hold off for a couple of months,Toshiba,Pioneer and others are releasing new models with improvements

This item was edited on Sunday, 30th May 2004, 21:50

Just another option for you.

I have SKY+ - very easy to program recordings, very flexible (eg. record two channels).

I also have a Panny E50, which I then use to make permanent recordings onto DVD-R.

Works fine for me, but I know one thing for sure, you are right to be looking for a hard disk solution... I couldn`t live without it.

Good Luck !

Although Sky+ is excellent,you really need another HDD to go with it for editing.With a dvd only deck you would either be on the pause button a lot or messing about with PC editing